alchemy is the science, art, and philosophy of change. whether you're turning raw ingredients into a meal, or taylor swift is turning an ex-boyfriend into a song, wherever there's transformation, there is alchemy.

the ultimate transformation being pursued in the alchemical tradition is that of turning lead into gold, often with the help of the philosopher's stone. why? because gold is virtually indestructible. it doesn't scorch, rust, or tarnish, and no matter how you melt and remold it, it's integrity always remains intact.

in the most meta-critical and reductive manner, this "alchemical program", like twitchy the cat, is something that i "alchemized" by turning some of my worst experiences into valuable lessons with the help of my schooling. but my education is not my only "philosopher's stone" and lessons are not the only "gold" to be had or made out of unpleasant experiences. your "lead" and catalyst will be different than mine and unique to you, and may change under different circumstances. education and knowledge, for example, fail to be useful in many situations, and can even obstruct rather than speed up certain processes.

in a technical sense, this program is something of a hybrid between a rhetoric/media studies course and a personal development mentorship, informed by various spiritual philosophies, and rooted in global awareness. there will be a lot of writing, reading, films to watch, and playlists to listen to. topics will range from mythological and literary material to politico-historic events, investigating a multitude of themes that overlap and intersect between the individual and the collective. as you read and learn, you will be looking for these themes in your own life, cultivating a particular awareness of them, (re)performing them, and documenting your experience. ideally, you will be working towards producing a personal creation, whether that be a poem, a painting, or a business idea

throughout the process, we'll be learning to engage critically and without judgement with inner material (thoughts and emotions) and external material (media and relationships). we'll be honing our reasoning skills and using them to deconstruct learned "truths" about the world; we'll be enhancing our intuition and allowing it to guide us as we reconstruct our own truth of the world; and we'll be recognizing our role in the world around us as individuals, learning what we can offer, from a place of authenticity, to the collective.

ultimately, this is less of a "course" or "program" and more of a commitment between you and yourself, to a new, loosely-guided way of being that you will integrate into your everyday life. for a period of seven months, you will be consuming certain media, literature, and music, be assigned tasks, and be given different paradigms through which to examine, understand, and interact with the world around you. you will be trusting me to curate and guide you through these paradigms as we explore them together. thus, the more deeply you can commit to and integrate the work that i give you, the more enriching your experience of our seven months together will be.

this journey is for people who:

- are mentors, teachers, healers, or leaders in any capacity who would like to deepen their spiritual or personal philosophy

- are compelled by their newfound awareness of the ongoing events in the holy land and the world to establish a broader, collective awareness

- have been on a healing journey for a long time and/or have done ample therapy but feel like they've plateaued

- have recently had a spiritual experience and may be recovering from a period of spiritual psychosis

- just want to be the best version of themselves, and want to explore alchemy as an avenue through which to do so

- several or all of the above

we begin in september, and end in march.

to make room for as many people as possible to join us on this journey, this will be a tiered program:

tier 1 is for people who would like to take the journey alone by attending lectures and receiving homework without having to share their work or participate in community and group exercises. this journey is based on the work that i have done and continue to do mostly alone, so it is perfectly possible to do this alone or with minimal guidance.

tier 2 is for people who would like to take the journey with the collective by being involved in the community, sharing homework in the community platform, giving and receiving feedback, creating connections, and participating in group exercises and extra activities.

tier 3 is for people who, in addition to being committed to the communal journey, would like to be mentored by me personally in a closer way where they are held accountable through more detailed feedback on their work, assigned tasks curated specifically for them, and one on one calls. this is for people who are (or are becoming) teachers, speakers, organizers, business owners, or thought leaders and would like me to help them push the boundaries of their spiritual philosophy and practice.

tier 1 - "i got this" - access to live biweekly lectures and homework: 60$/mo. (25 spots)

tier 2 - "we got this" - access to biweekly lectures and homework with discord access: 300$/mo. (20 spots)

tier 3 (FULL) - "you and i got this" - access to biweekly lectures, homework, discord, personalized feedback, and personal mentoring, with 3 60 minute 1-1 sessions: 900$/mo. (5 spots)

about twitchy

elianne is a writer, reader, speaker, and doctor of philosophy. her work is informed by her personal experiences as the child of immigrants in canada, the lessons she has been taught by spiritual mentors along the way, and her formal education. her MA study involved tracing variations of symbolic tradition in jungian dream analysis, alchemical literature, and occult poetry. her PhD explores narratives of resistance and political identity expression in Palestinian hip-hop. and be it in her studies of the unconscious realm and imagination, or of the conscious world and its struggles, she is most interested in what they reveal about identity, difference, and becoming.

in her free time, she is either reading, listening to music, or watching a sitcom. 

you can find her writing here and all other work here.

classes will be held every other sunday at 10 AM EST (toronto)/5 PM EEST (beirut) beginning sunday, september 15th. sessions will be recorded and uploaded to teachable for you to rewatch/download in case you miss the class time.

safe travels light-beam.